Virginia Code 38.2-612.1: Special requirements for providing financial information to nonaffiliated third parties
A. Except as otherwise provided in § 38.2-613, no insurance institution, agent, or insurance-support organization may, directly or through an affiliate, disclose to a nonaffiliated third party financial information about an individual collected or received in connection with an insurance transaction, unless:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 38.2-612.1
- Applicant: means any person who seeks to contract for insurance coverage other than a person seeking group insurance that is not individually underwritten. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Clear and conspicuous notice: means a notice that is reasonably understandable and designed to call attention to the nature and significance of the information in the notice. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Consumer reporting agency: means any person who:
1. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Financial information: means personal information other than medical record information or records of payment for the provision of health care to an individual. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
- Individual: means any natural person who:
1. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Insurance institution: means any corporation, association, partnership, reciprocal exchange, inter-insurer, Lloyd's type of organization, fraternal benefit society, or other person engaged in the business of insurance, including health maintenance organizations, and health, legal, dental, and optometric service plans. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Insurance transaction: means any transaction involving insurance primarily for personal, family, or household needs rather than business or professional needs that entails:
1. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Insurance-support organization: means any person who regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of assembling or collecting information about natural persons for the primary purpose of providing the information to an insurance institution or agent for insurance transactions, including (i) the furnishing of consumer reports or investigative consumer reports to an insurance institution or agent for use in connection with an insurance transaction or (ii) the collection of personal information from insurance institutions, agents or other insurance-support organizations for the purpose of detecting or preventing fraud, material misrepresentation or material nondisclosure in connection with insurance underwriting or insurance claim activity. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Nonaffiliated third party: means any person who is not an affiliate of an insurance institution but does not mean (i) an agent who is selling or servicing a product on behalf of the insurance institution or (ii) a person who is employed jointly by the insurance institution and the company that is not an affiliate. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Person: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, company, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds type of organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
- Personal information: includes an individual's name and address and medical-record information, but does not include (i) privileged information or (ii) any information that is publicly available. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Policyholder: means any person who:
1. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Privileged information: means any individually identifiable information that (i) relates to a claim for insurance benefits or a civil or criminal proceeding involving an individual, and (ii) is collected in connection with or in reasonable anticipation of a claim for insurance benefits or civil or criminal proceeding involving an individual. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
1. The individual has been given a clear and conspicuous notice in writing, or in electronic form if the individual agrees, stating that such financial information may be disclosed to such nonaffiliated third party;
2. The individual is given an opportunity, before such financial information is initially disclosed, to direct that such information not be disclosed, and in no case shall the individual be given less than 30 days from the date of notice to direct that such information not be disclosed;
3. The individual is given a reasonable means by which to exercise the right to direct that such information not be disclosed as well as an explanation that such right may be exercised at any time and that such right remains effective until revoked by the individual; and
4. The nonaffiliated third party agrees not to disclose such financial information to any other person unless such disclosure would otherwise be permitted by this article if made by the insurance institution, agent, or insurance-support organization.
B. 1. No insurance institution, agent, or insurance-support organization may disclose to a nonaffiliated third party, directly or through an affiliate, other than to a consumer reporting agency, a policy number or similar form of access number or transaction account of a policyholder or applicant for use in telemarketing, direct mail marketing or other marketing through electronic mail to an applicant or policyholder, other than to:
a. An agent or other person solely for the purpose of marketing the insurance institution’s own products or services as long as the agent or other person is not authorized to directly initiate charges to the account; or
b. A participant in a private label credit card program or an affinity or similar program where the participants in the program are identified to the policyholder or applicant at the time the policyholder or applicant enters the program.
2. A policy or transaction account shall not include an account to which third parties cannot initiate charges.
C. No insurance institution or agent shall unfairly discriminate against an individual because (i) the individual has directed that his personal information not be disclosed pursuant to subsection A or (ii) the individual has refused to grant authorization of the disclosure of his privileged information or medical record information by an insurance institution, agent or insurance support organization pursuant to subsection A of § 38.2-613.
D. The requirements of subsection A may be satisfied by providing a single notice if two or more applicants or policyholders jointly obtain or apply for an insurance product. Such notice shall allow one applicant or policyholder to direct that financial information not be disclosed to nonaffiliated third parties on behalf of all of the joint applicants or policyholders, provided that each applicant or policyholder may separately direct that his financial information not be disclosed to nonaffiliated third parties.
E. An insurance agent shall not be subject to the requirements of subsection A in any instance where the insurance institution on whose behalf the agent is acting otherwise complies with the requirements contained herein, and the agent does not disclose any financial information to any person other than the insurance institution or its affiliates, or as permitted by § 38.2-613.
F. An insurance agent seeking to place coverage on behalf of a current policyholder shall be deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section in any instance where the agent has provided the notice required by this section within the previous 12 months.